Emiya Clan: Devil's Wings Forum Flavor
by Trooper1023
Summary: Based off Gabriel Blessing's Sekirei crossover "In Flight" and the "Emiya Clan" meme from the associated forums. Short stories detailing how Shinta Emiya met Yuuno Scrya and Nanoha Takamachi. Discontinued, see final chapter for author's note.
1. Devil's Wings 1

Devil's Wings 1

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>"But I'm booooooored, Rin-kaa..."<p>

"You're kidding, right Shinta? Bored of the city library?"

"Age limited access."

"Family library?"

"Even more age limited access. Duh."

"Don't 'duh' me, young man!"

"S-sorry, Rin-kaa-san... It's just..."

Sigh. "You really are bored, huh. Well, how about a little trip up to Uminari City?"

"Wha—seriously?"

"Chiho and I are paying a visit to Uminari University Hospital to look into an unusual case... I can drop you off at the University Library, and pick you up later—just as long as you promise to stay out of trouble."

"Haaaaaaai!"

* * *

><p>Shinta's ears twitched, his head snapping up from the book he was reading. It wasn't an actual sound, but a phantom one... meaning magic.<p>

_'Where's all that prana coming from?'_

* * *

><p>Yuuno Scrya knew this would happen sooner or later. But no, he just had to take responsibility for his find getting lost...<p>

The last of the magical binds gave way and the monstrous manifestation of the Jewel Seed lashed out at Yuuno with a spectral arm. Sealing spell only half-completed, he braced himself for the coming impact...

"Look out!"

...Only to be blindsided from a different direction. Yuuno felt his hair ruffle from the missed attack as another body collided with his, carrying both out of the way.

* * *

><p>Curling his body, Shinta rolled both him and the skinny blonde boy upright, planted his feet and gripped the other tightly, and <em>leaped<em>.

Just in time, too, as the furry-monster-blob-thing plowed into the ground beneath them.

Bouncing from tree branch to branch with the other boy flapping behind him, Shinta scowled mightily. "I've got to ask you: what kind of idiot magus just stands there and takes it if their spells doesn't work. Shinta Emiya, you?"

Twitch. "Yuuno Scrya, and I'm an archaeologist, confound-it, not a combat mage!"

"Oh. So, what is that thing, anyway? And that girly wand?"

"Well..."

"[I AM NOT GIRLY. I AM ELEGANT.]"

"Eeeh! It talks!"

Sigh. "Raging Heart..."

"...Did the Kaleidostick _spawn_ when Rin-kaa-chan wasn't looking?"

The blonde boy blinked at the unfamiliar reference, while hoping that this Shinta boy wasn't so harshly sarcastic _all_ the time...

* * *

><p>"This..." Yuuno began with a grimace, seeing the manifestation of the Jewel Seed break out of his latest binding spell and buck off Shinta, yet again, "Is not working..."<p>

Shinta hit the ground on his back and bounced, flipping back up on to his feet with a growl as frustration mounted. "No! Ya think?" _'Maybe I should call Rin-kaa and just get it over with...'_

Yuuno opened his mouth to reply, but Raging Heart preempted him.

"[THE OTHER IS CORRECT, MY BEARER. OUR COMPATIBILITY IS INSUFFICIENT FOR RAPID CASTING, WHILE THE OTHER'S STYLE OF MAGIC IS UNKNOWN. WE HAVE TWO OPTIONS: RETREAT OR BORROW MAGICAL ENERGY FROM A THIRD SOURCE. RETREAT IS RECOMMENDED.]"

The two boys exchanged looks, and reached the same conclusion simultaneously. Retreat was _not_ an option.

* * *

><p>"Ano, Nanoha-chan, Arisa-chan? I really don't think we should go this way, today..."<p>

"Eh? Why not, Suzuka?"

"I heard a crashing sound a while ago… There's another—Nanoha-chan?"

"...I hear someone calling for help." Nanoha Takamachi considered for a moment, then decided. Leaping off the path, she darted into the forest, leaving her friends behind.

* * *

><p>"[NEW MAGICAL SIGNATURE DETECTED.]"<p>

"New—? Argh, what now!"

"Um... What's going on?" The brawl before Nanoha's eyes stilled for a moment. She could see two boys, one hanging in mid-air, while the other, who was in the middle of grappling with the monster, suddenly met her eyes. His face suddenly paled, before turning rather red.

Then the monster lunged for _her_, and the orange haired boy lunged at it, intercepting it with a flying tackle. "Yunno, hand it off!" Both blurred together in a tangle of spectral limbs, scraps of cloth, and a few flecks of blood.

"Right!" 'Yuuno' flew(!) toward Nanoha and thrust the pretty white and gold wand into her hands. Then he whirled about, spreading both hands as a green circle with strange letters appeared underneath him.

Glowing chains sprouted from beneath the monster, restraining it enough that the orange-haired boy was able to wrestle out from its grasp... Only to turn around and resume grappling with the thing! That one's feet sank holes into the forest ground, yet amazingly he didn't buckle under what had to have been an immense amount of pressure.

_'What is going on here...?'_ Nanoha thought to herself.

Then the wand spoke. "[NEW USER DETECTED. MAGICAL POWER: HIGH. COMPATIBILITY: VERY HIGH. I, RAGING HEART, ASK OF YOU: WILL YOU BE MY MASTER?]"

"Eeeh? Um, ah, sure! How can I help?"

* * *

><p><em>'Well, all's well that ends well,'<em> or so Shinta thought as he waved good bye to Nanoha and Yuuno. He had the girl's cell phone number and they would meet up later, after Nanoha had gotten Yuuno situated...

Now if only Shinta could figure out why he kept blushing every time Nanoha's face came to mind.

"SHINTA EMIYA! YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!"

"Erk! Ow ow ow, not the ear, Rin-kaa!"

"What have I told you about running around without telling someone where you were going? And look at you! What, get in a fight with a lawnmower?"

"Um, well, I won?"

"..."

"And, um, I was around, see... I sent you a text saying that I was going to the park outside the university campus..."

"What."

"...On your cell phone, Rin-kaa. You did remember to bring it, right?"

"Eh... Oh, here it is! Of course I did... 'More age limited access, going out to the campus park'..."

"...You forgot to check, didn't you."

"He's got you there, Rin."

"Chiho... You're not helping. And _you_. Come along, before I decide to actually punish you..."

* * *

><p>"...Thank you, Matsu," Rin replied through gritted teeth. "...Now please let go before I have to do something <em>drastic<em>."

Matsu giggled and patted Rin's hip one final time, then unwrapped herself from the magi's side. Before leaving, however, she glomped onto Shirou with an audible purr, groped his butt and giggled again as he stiffened, before releasing him and flouncing off back to her computer nest of a room.

Both magi twitched as they watched the hacker go, before turning to each other.

"So..." Shirou began.

"The detection grid did, in fact, pick up the unusual spike of prana in Uminari city. However, detection isn't fine enough outside Shin Tokyo to pinpoint where exactly it happened."

Her husband nodded. "But you have your own senses, and were in the area anyway. So what did you find?"

Rin scowled. "I didn't find anything, because Shinta found it first. It appeared completely dealt with by the time I found him."

Shirou raised an eyebrow, unconsciously imitating Rin herself.

Who found this even more off-putting. "Alright! Alright! I'll admit it, the little sneak distracted me with that stupid phone-message-thing, and I forgot to ask him what exactly he found."

"Rin..."

"Don't say it! Don't you _dare_ say it!" A gandr formed at the tip of Rin's finger. Shirou only grinned.

"What is this racket about?"

"Well, Saber... Rin here forgot about her cell phone while trying to find Shinta this afternoon... She really needs to remember how useful modern technology is." Then Shirou ducked.

"...You said it." ~BANG~

Arturia sighed as she eyed the hole in the wall where Shirou's head had been a moment ago. _'The kids had to get it from somewhere, didn't they?'_

* * *

><p>Dramatis personæ by order of appearance: Shinta Emiya, Rin Tosaka-Emiya, Yuuno Scrya, Nanoha Takamachi, Chiho Hidaka-Emiya, Matsu Emiya, Shirou Emiya, Arturia P. Emiya (Saber)<p>

This will not make much sense unless you have browsed the Mechanics of In Flight forum, specifically the Omake threads. For details on all the OC children of the Emiya clan see "Emiya Clan Reference Data Sheet" by kittybear, or search for the "In Flight OMAKES" community. Or check our TvTropes page, at http:/ tvtropes. /Fanfic/TheEmiyaClan

First draft at: http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/41169280/37/ post #1,814


	2. Devil's Wings 2

_Devil's Wings 2_

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>"Nanoha! You're being totally unreasonable! I don't care how 'lonely' you think that Fate girl is, trying to talk her down is a waste! Take her down first, then talk!"<p>

"Muuuu... Fine. Since we can't seem to agree on a course of action, let's settle this outside."

There was mass squee-ing and all-around hubbub as the spectating crowd of Emiya children realized that little Shinta was going to throw down with his magus girl friend. Between Shinta's strength and that talking wand, explosions were pretty much guaranteed.

* * *

><p>Shirou Emiya couldn't help it. One hand lifted to his face, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright you lot, settle down!"<p>

When the excitable crowd did not, the air around Shirou began to darken. Recognizing the beginnings of the Dreaded Asura Mask, the children quieted down.

Pleased with the response, Shirou turned to his clan's all around caretaker and nanny. "So what exactly happened, Gil? Why is there a new crater and dozens of pockmarks all over my back yard?"

Gilgamesh sniffed, turning his head to one side and crossing his arms. "One of your youngest got in an argument with the girl he brought home, over the merits of annihilation versus conscription of one's enemy." The King of Kings shook his head sadly. "The boy understands. By the root, he _understands_ that one must _crush_," and here, Gil clenched one fist dramatically, "An enemy's will above all else to ensure victory. And yet he lost. _Lost!_"

Jun blinked in confusion, then turned and asked Arika in a whisper, "What does crushing an enemy's will have to do with Shinta-kun loosing?"

Arika blinked, then choked back a laugh. It was Kyon, however, who answered, "That's Gil-speak for you. Basically, he said 'Shinta fought really well, and he lost only due to lack of fighting experience.'"

"Ah."

Masterfully ignoring the byplay, Gilgamesh turned and pointed at Karin. "Bring the record up. I know you have it captured on your little scrying board."

Matsu's daughter grinned impishly and whipped out her PAD.

* * *

><p>{Indeed, there were explosions. While little Nanoha seemed limited to a pair of attack spells, one defense, and her flight spell, she made use of them in increasingly complex ways as the match progressed.}<p>

Sharp ears among his children picked up Shirou's mutterings of 'too easy' and 'self-teaching artifacts'.

"Heh, jealous Dad?" Riko verbally prodded her father.

In an expression shamelessly stolen from Rin, Shirou cocked one eyebrow at Medusa's teenage daughter. "No, just worried. There are some things that even a mystic code as fantastic as that wand can't teach. Like restraint."

Riko's expression turned serious in comprehension. "Oh." That had been an issue of her own when she was younger, what with her mystic eyes...

{Meanwhile, Shinta showed himself to be every bit as tough as his siblings claimed, shrugging off individual hits from Nanoha's Divine Shooter spell, and at one point punching the little ball of magical force right back at its caster. It would have been match over right there if Raging Heart hadn't been ready, willing, and able to cast Protection in its master's defense.}

{The mock battle itself was a strange mix of tag and keep-away. While Shinta had a limit to how high he could jump, Nanoha found that flying above that height made it just as easy for Shinta to dodge her attacks. There was a precarious balance between her ability to attack and defend, and Shinta's.}

{Thus, what had begun as a brawl between magic and fists quickly evolved into the proverbial chess match. Shinta attempted a variety of simple strategies to lure Nanoha in so he could tackle and pin her. He even went so far as to fake an epic bout of dizziness after deliberately taking a half dozen Shooters to the face. Nanoha's response to that gambit was a broad beam of raw magical force at range, hence the new crater. Shinta dodged it, of course.}

"Huh," Shirou mused. "For someone who's only been using magic a few weeks, Nanoha-chan has remarkably good instincts."

Chiyo smirked. "Magic has nothing to do with it, Dad. But yea, her battle instincts are surprisingly sharp for someone with no apparent combat training."

{Nanoha, in opposition of Shinta's solidity, flitted about on her little pink wings and tried different versions of Divine Shooter, including a guided variant and a veritable hailstorm, as she tried to pin Shinta down long enough for her to charge up her Buster spell and wack him with it. It was clear that Nanoha was counting on that spell having enough impact to finally down her amazingly resilient foe.}

{The match finally came to an end when Nanoha gambled on a feint, diving down to skim the ground in a broad circle around her opponent. Shinta fell for it, and dove through a volley of Shooters to try for another tackle...}

{"_Diviiiiine~_"}

{...Only to bounce off of an angled Protection spell cast by Raging Heart. Thrown up in the air by the rebound, Shinta's eyes widened with dismay at the realization that dodging was no longer an option. "Ah, crap!" There was a flicker as a triangular plane of light appeared before him...}

{"_~BUSTAAAAAAH!_"}

{Nanoha's bright beam of condensed magic hit Shinta's light shield, which held for all of a second before shattering.}

"Ah! He finally managed a sold projection. Musubi will be happy to know that Yume's gift has been passed along as well," Shirou commented.

"Not like it did much good…" Fuuko scoffed.

Shirou lightly thumped the teenager on the head. "Now, now, give my boy a little credit. First time successes are rarely more than the barest fraction beyond failure. Or need I remind you of your first attempts at Projection?

Kazehana's daughter blushed at the reminder.

{"Gah!" Crash. Shift. Thump. Creeeeeak. Thud.}

The screen showed Shinta falling out of the tree he'd been thrown into to hit the ground on his shoulders with arms splayed out haphazard, spine to the tree trunk, both legs still in the air, and his eyes swirling.

{"Ah! Shinta-kun, are you okay?" Nanoha landed beside the boy and leaned over him in concern.}

Shirou could hear certain of his children cooing and aww-ing... And he had to admit, the scene was rather cute.

{"Eeh, y-yeah... G-guess you w-win, N-Nanoha. We'll h-handle that Fate girl your... w-way."}

Wait a second. Why was Shinta blushing so heavily. He shouldn't have been THAT winded... Oh no. No no no no no. By root, he was too YOUNG! Shinta was faaaar too young to be reacting!... And yet, it seemed that he was.

Shirou Emiya felt a headache coming on. Nothing else to do, but meet the girl's family. And find out if such reckless magic really is the norm from wherever that Scrya boy comes from, since that wand was his previously.

Yes, Shirou was fully aware of how hypocritical it was for HIM to call someone else's magic 'reckless'. But by the root: throwing around that much raw prana simply could not be healthy!

...Now if only he could figure out how to do the same.

* * *

><p>{...} is stuff happening on the screen of Karin's PAD.<p>

Ahh, ever hypocritical Shirou! Always looking for better ways to kick ass and SAVE people, and never willing to admit to the consequences.

The first version of this omake apparently gave the impression of Shinta being curb-stomped by Nanoha. Since that was NOT my intent, I expanded it. Massively. And threw in lots more of the Emiya clan… Please don't take offense if I fumbled the characterization of anyone's character.

Originally posted at http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/41169280/38/ post #1,862


	3. Devil's Wings 3

Devil's Wings 3

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>"Welcome to the Midori-ya! Table for three?"<p>

Musubi Emiya smiled brightly and nodded, then nudged her son with one elbow and her husband with the other. Shinta took his cue and asked the waitress if Nanoha was available, as the group was led to a nice booth in the back.

To Shiro, Musubi whispered, "You should be happy for him. It's so wonderful that he's found such a nice girl for himself."

Shiro's reply came out in a barely audible grumble. "I still think he's too young." Any further consideration was halted by two new voices.

"Come on, Kaa-chan! Shinta-kun came all the way here with his Kaa-chan and Tou-chan just to meet us!"

"Of course, Nanoha-chan. Let me clean my hands… Ladies, kitchen covered?" There was a chorus of affirmatives. Back at the booth, Shiro felt Musubi perk up, looking surprised. "Come along then. Let's meet this nice young man of yours..."

"Kaaaaa-chaaaan!" One could almost hear the blush in the young girl's voice. From the back of the store came little Nanoha, and behind her—

"Momoko-san!" Musubi cried, vaulting clear over her husband's lap and bounding between tables toward the attractive brunette following behind Nanoha.

"Ara? Musubi-san? My, how delightful to see you again!"

Both Shiro and Shinta's gazes bounced back and forth from one woman to the other as they caught up. Shinta leaned out of the booth, caught Nanoha's eyes, and shrugged. The gesture was returned in kind by an equally puzzled Nanoha.

Seeing that, Shiro decided to interrupt. "Dear?"

"Yes, Shiro?" Musubi returned to the table at his query, the other two following behind her.

"Where did you meet, ah, Takamachi-san?"

"Well, do you remember that one shopping trip with the giant mall and all the sales…"

Ah, yes—_That_ Trip. Shiro never did find out where the stampede-dispersing explosives came from—Why was Musubi looking sidewards at Takamachi-san while standing in her 'I-know-something-I'm-not-supposed-to-talk-about' stance? Well, at least she remembered the lesson on 'discretion'...

"Please, call me Momoko. And I take it this is Shinta-kun whom I've heard so much about. My, such a handsome young man." Queue dual blushes from both kids.

Shiro grinned. 'At least the kids are both too embarrassed to try anything...'

* * *

><p>"Momo-chan! A bit of help here!" Came a new voice from behind the booth. The service door was being propped open by a foot, whose owner was apparently struggling with some burden that kept him from opening the door properly.<p>

"Ah! Good timing, husband."

Shiro E. first saw the arms carrying the box. Then the man was fully through the door and handing it off to a waitress, before turning to his wife and embracing her... Topping it off with a kiss, even! Right there in the public shop. Shiro E. could practically feel Musubi squirm at the sight, likely desiring to do the same to him at this very moment.

Then the couple separated, and Shiro E. got to see the other man's face. 'My, what a day for unexpected reunions.' He opened his month in greeting, the other doing the same—

Only for both to stop at the sudden realization that years-old code names from a secret combat mission were _not_ appropriate for a meeting of families in a public café.

Momoko saved the day, with a pleasant smile. "This is my husband, Shiro Takamachi."

"Ah!" Musubi cried. "My husband's name is Shiro, too!" There was awkward smiles all around.

Then Shinta rolled his eyes. Nanoha saw it and giggled. The two children then ran over to a separate both and started talking in hushed tones.

Back with the adults... Shiro T. could see the undeniable hint of mischief in his wife's smile. Shiro E., on the other hand, resisted the impulse to press his palm to his face, while idly wondering just how much fun the Root was having at his expense.

* * *

><p>I know Momoko Takamachi appears to be quite normal, based on my wiki-readings. However, I don't buy it. Why would an elite bodyguard from a badass samurai clan like Shiro (Fuwa) fall for an ordinary woman?<p>

In several fanfics, I've seen Momoko referred to as possessing a variety of subtle, but very badass, traits, thus becoming another example of the 'Beware the Nice Ones' trope. I'm using the same idea here... so watch for the hint!

Originally posted at ht tp:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/14/ post #689


	4. Devil's Wings 4

Devil's Wings 4

By HubiKoshi, Part 1 of 2, edited by Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>Chiyo smiled as she saw Momoko-san behind the counter and received a smile in return from the affectionate and kind woman. She reminded Chiyo of her own mother, gentle and kind Chiho-kaa-san.<p>

"Ah Chiyo-chan, how good to see you. Is Shinta-kun doing well? We haven't seen him lately."

"Don't worry Momoko-san, he is perfectly fine. He is just a bit busy with his training." Chiyo smiled at the memory. After Shinta was soundly defeated by Nanoha (Uncle Gil threatened to skewer him to a tree for falling for Nanoha's 'obvious' feint; 'You should know better than that by now! You, who actually sits and _listens_ to my stories!'), he got a Training Fever and just kept challenging everyone in the house who was even remotely inclined to fight back. Unfortunately, it was starting to annoy the older ones, like Arika-nee-san and Haru-nii-san. Hopefully Shinta would get over it before Kaien-otouto or Keiko-imouto return from their school trips... Shinta challenging either of those two would result in the backyard needing to be _completely_ redone. Fireballs and bullets etched with exploding runes were _not_ good for the lawn.

"Oh, it's such a shame. Nanoha-chan misses him."

"I'll make sure to tell him."

"Oh, but if it would trouble him…"

"No, it's alright Momoko-san. Actually, he is training so hard because he wants to be able to protect Nanoha-chan one day."

"Oh my, how chivalrous of him."

Chiyo smiled and nodded, but winced inwardly. She didn't really want to lie to this kind woman, but Nanoha had begged her not to give any hint to her family about her involvement in magic. She hadn't wanted them to worry...

"Ah, but this wasn't the reason you came here, right? Who is this nice young lady you are with?"

Chiyo turned slightly and introduced the black haired glasses-wearing girl. "Momoko-san, this is Ayaka Nishizawa-san, a classmate of mine. Nishizawa-san this is Momoko Takamachi-san she and her husband Shirou Takamachi-san own this shop."

The girl flustered slightly and bowed her head. "Nice to meet you, Momoko-san."

Chiyo on the other hand smiled self-mockingly. Here she was introducing the girl professionally and yet she didn't even know her name an hour before.

"Likewise Ayaka-san. Have a seat Chiyo-chan and choose whatever you like."

"Thank you, Momoko-san."

The two schoolgirls sat down at an empty table and looked through the menus which were laid open on the table.

"You seem quite familiar with the owner, Emiya-san." Ayaka mused, bottom of her face covered by the menu.

"True. My little brother, the one who told me about Midori-ya, actually has a crush on their youngest daughter. They are both around 9 years old so it's rather sweet. We came here a couple of times and they visited our household so we are familiar with each other."

'Heh, crush. That was quite an understatement.' Chiyo smiled to herself. 'If Otou-san's theory about people with active magical circuits was right, her little brother will want to ravage poor Nanoha-chan before long.' With the amount of prana she had at her disposal Chiyo was quite surprised that all the Sekirei descendants in the household hadn't jumped Nanoha-chan the moment she appeared at the Emiya estate... though Rin-kaa-san seemed to have her own theories about that.

"You… have a rather large family, don't you Emiya-san."

"Yes, it's quite large." Chiyo kept her voice purposefully neutral. She liked this girl, and she hoped that she wouldn't have to be unpleasant to her.

"It must be... nice, to have such a large family. You can play with your siblings and go with them to various places. I'm an only child so I'm a bit jealous." Ayaka said with a giggle.

Chiyo relaxed as the conversation headed for safer waters, allowing her smile to return to her face. "Yes it is really fun, quite chaotic but really fun. Uncle Gil keeps telling us that we'll drive him to insanity, and sooner rather than later. But if he really is in danger of going mad, he never shows it. So the more mischievous of us keep pushing him more and more. You always know when to scatter by listening to him, because when Uncle Gil starts yelling, it's time to scram." Chiyo smiled fondly, she left out the fact that Uncle Gil's tantrums usually involved flying legendary weapons, but that was still ok. Every noble phantasm he launched from the Gates of Babylon was a perfectly deliberate _miss_. Uncle Gil was such a choleric and yet soft-hearted man.

"Uncle Gil?" Ayaka asked in confusion. "Another relative?"

"No, actually. Some years ago, our parents needed some help with the huge lot of us and they hired Uncle Gil. It was only a temporary measure but I guess Uncle Gil liked us so much that he decided to stay and keep watching over us... that is why we all call him 'Uncle'."

Well, summoning a legendary hero from the dimension outside time and space counted as hiring as far as telling this story was concerned. The second part was true though, many years after summoning, Rin-kaa-san and Otou-san offered to release Gilgamesh back to the Throne of Heroes. 'And he just laughed in their faces, saying that without him around, their pack of rambunctious little mongrels would overrun them within a day or less. Though,' Chiyo suspected, 'his rejection of the offer likely had _something_ to do with well over a dozen pairs of pouting puppy-dog eyes aimed at him like arrows.'

"Your dad fathered a large number of children with so many wives, no wonder he needed help."

Chiyo's smile faded, eyes focusing at the suddenly uncomfortable raven-head. "Please, do not judge my father." Her words were calm, but almost frighteningly cold.

"Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry Emiya-san." Ayaka answered in a slight panic.

Chiyo blinked, then touched the other girl's hand reassuringly and smiled gently. "It's me who should be sorry. I shouldn't have been so quick to take offense."

Ayaka nodded gently, still a bit unnerved by the sudden change in mood, even as it changed back quickly enough.

* * *

><p>They chatted away some more, a more relaxed mood returning as two slices of delicious sweet cake were delivered. Chiyo enjoyed the time with the earnest, shy girl but she started looking for some excuse to leave. Her usual training regimen couldn't wait forever.<p>

"I'm back, Kaa-chan!"

Chiyo turned her head to see the youngest daughter of the Takamachi family enter the shop and smile happily at her mother. A ferret, or to be more precise Yuuno-san in magical ferret form, was perched on her shoulder. The small girl with two pig-tails wanted to say something but suddenly stopped.

Chiyo felt something in the air change. She had only a couple of magical circuits, the result of her mother being just a normal person to her father's status as a magi, but she inherited his keen sense for magical interference. Whereas her father sensed by 'smell', Chiyo felt it on her skin. A powerful wave of magical power washed over her making her skin crawl. Nanoha must have noticed it too because she took on an expression of concern.

"Um, sorry Kaa-chan, but there is something I forgot. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"That's fine, Nanoha-chan. See you later." Her mother, oblivious to the magical interference just waved at her daughter as she ran out of the shop.

"Is something wrong, Emiya-san?"

Chiyo looked back at the girl in front of her, concerned expression adorning her face. "Ah, no, nothing wrong. I just remembered I had something else to attend to. I'm really sorry but I'll have to go. I'll pay at the counter and you can enjoy as much cake as you want, okay?"

"Ah but…" Ayaka hung her head slightly, setting her fork down beside her slice of cake.

"I really have to go. Maybe we'll come here some other time?" Chiyo offered the girl who nodded slightly, then got up and moved to the counter to pay for the snacks.

As she handed several bills to Momoko-san, the woman leaned forward and whispered, "Going to help my daughter?"

The shock was electric. 'How can she know!' Chiyo thought, looking over Momoko's seemingly guileless smile. The teenager nodded hesitantly, and Momoko's smile widened fractionally. Then Chiyo was out of the shop at a run. She started heading in the direction from which the feel of magical power came, while shaking off the questions about how much Nanoha-chan's mother really knew about what was going on...

Suddenly another wave of magic washed over Chiyo and the world became... gray, that was the only way she could describe it. Someone had set up a boundary field to keep normal, unpowered humans out of the coming combat zone. She approved of that.

* * *

><p>Finally, Chiyo saw them. Two girls, one a redhead in white dress with a white-golden staff and another a blonde clad in black clothes, her weapon a black halberd. Both were buzzing through the sky like fighter planes, exchanging magically empowered strikes and bullets of kinetic force in pink and yellow, each attempting to blow the other out of the sky. Chiyo smiled, the blonde was very good, obviously an experienced combatant, but Nanoha-chan was no slouch herself. It made Chiyo proud that her assessment of the redhead's instincts wasn't wrong.<p>

At street level, Yuuno-san was staring down a large red-furred wolf. It hurt to admit it but Chiyo couldn't really help Nanoha-chan up in the air. A ground battle, however, was a completely different thing.

Chiyo reached deep into her mind, where the source of her magical power resided. Two swords hung within the almost-tangible darkness, motionless and silent. Her will embraced them, took them in phantom hands. And then, surrounded by darkness, they moved. Metal ground against metal, sparks flew, and as the swords slashed outwards the darkness exploded with light.

_'Slash open, my Path!'_ As the light filled the darkness, her body was filled with power, and just as the sparking swords banished the darkness, her strength would repel those threatening her precious family.

Her mind shifted attention to the pendant Rin-kaa-san had made for her, pushing prana into it. Light flared in her hands.

* * *

><p>HubiKoshi's original version is at http: forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/7/ post #306.


	5. Devil's Wings 5

Devil's Wings 5

By HubiKoshi, Part 2 of 2, edited by Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>Yuuno Scrya jumped back, a great circle of light appearing above his ferret body and deflecting the wolf's charge. The canine rebounded off the shield, landed solidly, and surged around to one side, surprising Yuuno. The orange wolf was about to slash the ferret apart when a shadow appeared from the side and struck. Two curved swords crashed down on the wolf's back, sending her to the ground. A kick to the flank followed and hurled her some distance away with a howl of pain.<p>

The wolf regained her balance in mid air and landed on her four paws, her long claws scrapping the pavement, a snarl coming from her mouth. "Who the hell are you?" She snarled at the honey-blond girl in a school girl uniform wielding two great scimitars.

"Chiyo Emiya... has arrived," Chiyo answered shortly as she examined the situation carefully, a focused, emotionless expression on her face. Her eyes scanned the surroundings: the wolf in front of her, the two girls who suddenly paused in their dog fight, and a small levitating jewel. 'The Jewel Seed,' she thought.

"Chiyo-san!" cried out Nanoha, looking toward her.

"Don't look away from your opponent!" Chiyo snapped back.

"Ah, right!"

To the ferret, "Who are these people?" Chiyo asked, not taking her eyes off her opponent. The wolf snarled with irritation.

"The blonde is Fate, and her familiar Arf! Last time, it was Shinta-san and Nanoha-chan who engaged them. They are collecting the Jewel Seeds as well."

"I see… Arf-san, you must be aware of how very dangerous these Jewel Seeds are. With them scattered across my homeland and being a supernatural danger to its citizens, I and my family have a responsibility as Magi to see them secured. And as dangerous as they are, we can't simply release them to you on faith." Chiyo delivered her words with a calm, collected voice, underneath it however she was concerned. Fate could fly just like Nanoha-chan and appeared to have more ranged attack spells as well, while who knew what nasty tricks her familiar could have under her paws. Chiyo knew she was most likely outmatched, but she had to stand firm. Just because she was weaker than most of her siblings was no excuse to run.

"Nanoha-chan must have asked you before, but I'll ask you again: what are your plans for the Jewel Seeds? Maybe my family can help you. That is what it means to be an Emiya: to help people, as long as it is not at the expense of others."

The Jewel Seeds... her father actually likened them to Broken Phantasms, they were just that dangerous. If the blonde girl and her wolf didn't know what they were messing with, they could cost hundreds or even thousands of innocent lives to be lost, depending on how many Jewel Seeds ran out of control at once.

The wolf snarled at her contemptuously. "Spare me the platitudes! We need them and that's the only thing you need to know, sword-girl! Get out of our way or you'll get hurt!"

Chiyo glanced quickly at Fate and bit her lip. "Nanoha-chan, I'm trusting you to handle Fate. Remember, if you lose, Shinta-kun will be sad." She didn't even need to look to know about the blush lighting up Nanoha's face.

"Ah! Y-yes, don't worry about me!"

"Yuuno, get your binding spells ready. If either of these two attempts to flee, lock them down."

"Ah, I'll help you." Yuuno offered, but Chiyo shook her head.

"No, you're the back-up plan if either Nanoha-chan or I falter." She didn't want to admit it, but it was mostly her pride that kept her from accepting Yuuno-kun's offer. 'I have to fight and be strong for myself, that's the only way I'll ever be worthy of the Emiya name,' she thought.

"Umm... Okay." The young mage in the form of a ferret relented, though very reluctantly.

Chiyo centered herself before her opponent, her hands gripping handles of her swords tightly.

"I'll eat you, little girl, for getting in our way!" The wolf snarled preparing to leap

"Let's see you try." Chiyo smiled, adrenaline joining the flow through her blood alongside the od of her self-reinforcement.

Arf charged. The canine was on Chiyo in a blink of an eye, her paw coming for the girl's stomach. Its claws missed by a hair as Chiyo swirled around the extended appendage and moved out of the wolf's way, her body contorting as she forced it to move at an inhuman pace. The effort paid off, leaving her clear to yet again bring her swords down on the wolf's spine, eliciting another howl. Chiyo's leg was already moving to follow up, kneeing the wolf in the same flank she'd struck before, and as Arf recoiled from the impact, Chiyo swirled her arms about in a circle, using the momentum to slam the blades up into her opponent's belly from below.

The familiar was obviously in pain and disoriented, but there were no cuts in her hide. 'That Barrier Jacket spell, it must be,' Chiyo thought with a surge of envy. In her first attack, she had used the back of her scimitars, thinking that she might take the wolf out by surprise. It wasn't enough, so now Chiyo found herself using lethal attacks, and hoping the familiar's defense was up to the task of deflecting them. Killing either of these two would _not_ be helping them.

Thrown away, the wolf screamed in pain as she landed, trying to steady herself as her canine body swayed slightly. Arf snarled at her foe as she started to circle cautiously. Barrier Jacket or not, the impact of those swords _hurt_ and she didn't want to repeat the experience.

Chiyo observed the familiar carefully, drawing on her experience with large, powerful canines. Primy could be quite playful when the mood struck him; she knew his movements well. Large beasts like this were powerful and could inflict grievous wounds with a charging attack but they had a significant weakness; they were nearly defenseless if hit from the flanks or behind. Unlike humans who could turn quickly in every direction, beasts like this needed some more time and space to turn about. If you could avoid the frontal attack, you could come back swinging and do a lot of damage in return.

Then Arf 'smiled' a wolfish smile and scrapped the pavement with her claws. Suddenly Chiyo couldn't move her legs. A quick glance down and there were two rings of light clamped around her ankles.

'Damn! A binding spell!' She grit her teeth as the wolf charged again. Thinking fast, 'How did Yuuno-kun say they worked?' Chiyo franticly analyzed her body. The circles were magically digging into her, not only immobilizing her limbs but also hindering the flow through her magical circuits in that part of her body.

Arf charged, her jaw open, her claws ready to slash her opponent apart. Chiyo quickly crouched, touched the edge of her fists to the rings and flooded the foreign spell with her od.

The wolf's claw blurred toward her foe, the fight seemingly at its end...

And yet no, the binds suddenly broke. Chiyo managed to jump back at the last moment, forcing her legs to move despite the numbness left behind by the prana overflow. Her jump wasn't as strong as it could have been, and sharp claws dug through her reinforced clothing and into her abdomen. Chiyo couldn't help but let out a small scream as her flesh was rent.

"What?" Came from the shocked voice of the wolf, who backed away and then looked at her bloodied claws. "...Fighting me without a barrier jacket? You..." Arf actually sounded appalled that someone would enter combat without one.

And it proved to be the familiar's undoing. Gritting her teeth and ignoring the pain, Chiyo charged, taking advantage of enemy's shock to strike. One of her scimitars clipped the wolf's chin, while the other sword whipped up, around, and down onto the top of Arf's canine head and sent her to the ground. Before the wolf could get her wits together, Chiyo mounted her canine foe behind its shoulders, driving both swords into the ground on either side of Arf's neck.

"Yield. You lost... and your life isn't something I wish to take. Please... just yield this battle. I promise my family will treat you and your master well."

Arf didn't understand. She was defeated; normal blades should have shattered easily against her barrier jacket, so Arf felt sure that in this positioning, these blades could easily scissor down and behead her. That was reasonable enough for a real fight, though bad news for her and Fate.

And yet... this crazy sword-wielding girl, who charged into battle against a powerful mage's familiar without even a barrier jacket to protect her, this hurt and bleeding girl was still talking about _helping_ her... Like the white-clad younger girl had wanted to, before the battle had begun. Even now, she was battling it out with Fate overhead. The great wolf sagged. 'What unreasonable people, these kids are. Still... If they really _are_ willing to help Fate...'

"Fine. I yield. But if Fate defeats your friend in white..."

Chiyo found herself smiling gently, one of her hands gently stroking the wolf's mane. "Of course. I understand."

There was a longer pause, as Arf considered her response. "...Thank you."

"Chiyo-san!" Yuuno ran toward her, light flaring as he returned to his human form. He knelt down at Chiyo's side, slowly pulling her hand away from the wound it was reflexively covering.

"I'm okay Yuuno-san, make sure this one isn't hurt, I was quite brutal on her."

"You are _not_ okay, those claws went right through your reinforced clothes! Show me that wound so I can heal it... And when we get back, I'm promise I'll sit down with Rin-san and find a way to get a barrier jacket working for you and Shinta. This madness has gone on long enough."

"Pft. Maddness? This is Sparta. Heh, heheh—ow!" Yuuno was seriously glaring at her now, looking like he was getting close to losing his temper. 'Huh, I didn't know he _had_ a temper...' "Okay, alright, I'll hold still... And I'll hold you to that promise, too." Reluctantly, Chiyo slowly removed the hand from her wound. It was broad but didn't quite reach her vitals. Blood was soaking her outfit down to her skirt, and slowly dripping down her leg. 'Chiho-kaa-san will have a fit when she sees me, I just know it...'

Yuuno's hands lit up with prana, and that funny circle of light appeared as it always did when this strange style of magic was used. Chiyo felt the healing magic start running its course on her body.

She glanced up to see Fate soar downwards, Nanoha following closely behind. Their staves intertwined as they tried to claim the Jewel and...

"Oh no!"

The Jewel started shaking, large quantities of prana exploding outward from it.

"Nanoha-chan, Fate get away from there!" Chiyo screamed, starting to get up only for Yuuno to push her back down. He darted in front of both Arf and Chiyo, his hands shooting forward as a much larger shield spell appeared between them and the activating Jewel Seed.

Chiyo felt herself flinch as the shockwave struck the shield, but Yuuno stood firm. Fortunately, the majority of the prana went upwards in a pillar of blue light. Then the flow of prana started to subside. The honey-blonde saw Yuuno's shield dispel, and searched the area for Nanoha-chan and Fate. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she saw both girls sprawled on the ground in opposite directions from the center of the explosion.

Then she, Yuuno, and Arf all cried out in unison as Fate leaped to her feet and charged at the still leaking Jewel Seed. The blond haired girl seized the jewel in her hands, and kneeled as if preying, trying to stop the activation by main force of a point-blank sealing spell. Blood sprayed out from the gaps between Fate's fingers, as her face twisted in readily apparent agony.

"Fate! Let go of that Jewel, it's dangerous!" Arf screamed desperately from under her prison of swords. Chiyo grunted, magically releasing her weapons to the jewel hidden inside her pendant, which removed them from real-space and stored them, and then got up. Arf blinked up at her, but didn't wait more than a moment before darting toward Fate.

But Fate didn't let go, her hands firmly around the Jewel, and a moment later it was over. The fountain of raw prana tapered off, as the Jewel Seed returned to its slumber. Fate got to her feet, but couldn't stay upright and began to fall backward, her consciousness fading. Arf was closing in, but Nanoha was there first, catching Fate in her arms, as the small jewel slipped from the blonde's fingers.

"Fate-chan!"

"Fate!" Arf cried out.

The big woman knelt beside the two girls, one unconscious blonde resting in the gentle embrace of the pig-tailed redhead. 'Wait a moment, big woman? That's Arf's voice!' Chiyo's eyes widened, regarding the busty woman wearing only a brief shirt, a half-cloak, and very short pants. The ruddy tail protruding from the woman's backside told Chiyo the story.

"A shapeshifter... Like Yuuno." She mused as the concerned-looking woman touched the blonde girl's face, her hands trembling. Chiyo looked over Fate and Nanoha-chan: both girls were pale and haggard, but Fate was shivering and appeared to be feverish.

'No wonder, she just got hit by enough prana to project a large portion of Otou-san's enormous arsenal.' This was something Chiyo had never seen or experienced, she actually didn't know what to do.

She had no experience with something like this, she had no experience, she...

She... she couldn't... help...

Damn it, Damn it all.

"Chiyo-san, come on. Your wound is closed enough to walk, and I need your help watching those two while we get them someplace safe. Can we use one of the guest houses on the Emiya estate?"

'He _needs_ my help? Right.' Yuuno _did_ need her help. So did Fate.

Chiyo nodded. "Yes, that should be fine. We get her to my home, Otou-san or my Okaa-sans will know what to do. Let's move."

Fate wasn't paying that much attention and so missed the emphasis, but Arf caught it. 'Okaa-san_s_?'

* * *

><p>HubiKoshi's original version is at http: forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/7/ post #306.


	6. Devil's Wings 6

Devil's Wings 6

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>Several of the Emiya manor's many rooms were furnished as 'den' areas. They had plenty of comfortable chairs, long couches, and several broad, low tables. Some had bookshelves lining the walls and broad windows, and others had extensive AV systems. This one had bookshelves filled not with novels and magazines, but with reference books, and had a drafting table at one end. The younger Emiya children had been taught to use it as THE study room. The older kids... hadn't, much to Shirou's regret.<p>

Tap. Tap. Click.

Tap. Tap. Click.

Shift.

Tap. Tap. Click.

"Darn it, Shinta! Stop fidgeting!" Gekkou growled, reaching over and grabbing the pencil out of Shinta's hand.

Kumako and Reiko looked up from their own pages in surprise, to see Shinta-nii-san continue moving his hand, not even noticing the loss of the writing implement. Kumako glanced over at Jun-nii-san, and saw her own worries reflected in his eyes.

"Well?" Gekkou continued, either oblivious or too aggravated to care.

Shinta gave a sudden start and sat upright from his prior slouch. "Huh?"

The blonde boy growled again and started to get up, but a hand came down on his shoulder before he could.

"Shinta-kun... Are you well? I have never seen you this distracted before," Jun asked in a concerned tone, his hand still on Gekkou's shoulder.

"..." Shinta didn't answer.

Kumako would have kept listening, but a tug on her jumper brought her attention to Shinra, who was supposed to be over _there _entertaining Ichigo with some paper and crayons. 'Why...?'

Shinra-chan promptly sat up from her crawl and presented a drawing... Of a red cross? Kumako turned to Reiko, who looked herself, then shrugged.

"Imouto... What is that?" came the voice of her aniki. It was shaking. Kumako took hold of the page and Shinra-chan nodded, so she held it up where Shinta-nii-san could see it.

Across the table, Shinta gave the image an intense look. Then he got up and started pacing, like Kumako had seen Tou-san and Takeshi-nii-san do.

Suddenly Shinra-chan gave a short cry, catching everyone's attention. Looking back at Shinta, she held up two fingers, then pointed at the picture.

Shinta's face grew very pale.

Seeing that, Jun stood up as well. "Shinta-kun?"

From elsewhere in the huge house, the gate buzzer sounded. Not even a minute later, Gilgamesh's voice rang out, loud and irate.

"You mongrels need _**WHAT**__!"_

Gekkou winced as the echo from Uncle Gil's voice died, then he opened his eyes to see that Shinta was running for the door. He was out of the room in a flash, and Jun hadn't even moved to try and stop him. "Oh, come on. How is it that _he_ gets out of homework, but I don't?" Gekkou grumbled.

Kumako immediately turned and poked her buddy in the arm. "That's not fair, and you know it. Aniki is really worried about something, and what if it's about _to_ happen? Or already _has_?"

Jun frowned and started toward the door, but Reiko caught is sleeve and tugged. Her voice was actually audible, though very soft. "Shinra thinks his friends need him."

"Eeeh?" Gekkou cried. "That is no excuse to run away from homework time!"

Kumako responded instead. "What does Tou-san always say about justice and friends?"

"'When you gotta go, you gotta go'?"

"Ew!" Kumako gave Gekkou a solid thwap on the shoulder. "That's not it at all!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not! That's Uzume-kaa-san's potty humor, and you know how Miya-kaa-san and Takeshi-nii-san feel about that."

"...Spoilsport. It was funny, too."

"Was not."

"Was too."

"Was not."

"Was too. You're even laughing about it."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are not!"

"Am too—_Hey!_ That was a mean trick!"

In response, Gekkou stuck his tongue out. Kumako humphed.

Thunk. Thunk. Two rubber erasers bounced off the heads of Kumako and Gekkou, one a piece.

"Thank you, Reiko-chan. I was considering a similar action." Jun remarked as he seated himself again.

Gekkou rubbed his forehead, then blinked. "Wait... We're not going to follow?"

"No."

"But... Why? I wanna know what's going on!"

Jun shook his head, then pointed up at the ceiling. "Listen." Indeed, faint vibrations could be felt and heard throughout the room. "Right now," Jun continued, "The whole rest of the family is rushing for the entrance hall to find out what sparked Uncle Gil's protective mode. If we go, we would have to take Shinra and Ichigo as well, and that would be a bad idea. So we stay here, out of the way, and our Kaa-sans will all be proud of how we looked after our little sisters."

Gekkou focused an intense gaze at Jun. "...How did we get a stick-in-the-mud like you for a brother, anyway?"

Kumako gaped for a moment, then growled, turned, and shoved Gekkou completely out of his chair.

"Hey!"

"Justice must be served! You deserved that!"

"Did not!"

Jun turned a long-suffering gaze on Reiko, who returned it with equal feeling.

Behind her older siblings, Shinra sat, still looking to where Shinta had left the room at a run. Finally, she turned and crawled back over to Ichigo, who was strangely quiet the whole time, and resumed playing with her.

* * *

><p>Shinta burst into the manor's entrance hall at a dead run, a family-customized first aid kit under each arm. Looking toward the front double-doors, he could see not only Uncle Gil's back, but the tell-tale ripple of the Gate of Babylon. That worried Shinta. 'Somebody's attacking the manor? No, wards ain't blaring...'<p>

"Gil... _move_," said a very familiar voice in a dangerously familiar tone, and there was Chiyo-nee-san storming into the hall. She paused upon sighting Shinta, then her eyes lit up. "Med kits! Perfect timing, Shinta." Chiyo wasted no time in claiming a med kit from him, but Shinta's eyes were elsewhere.

At the same time, Uncle Gil whirled on his feet and shouted, "Confoundit, mongel girl, I'm not blind! I _see_ your wounds! At the very least, take it easy and _try_ not to bleed all over the floors! _Again_! And by the Throne, who are _those_ two?" One arm whipped up to point at front doors, still open, and the people still standing there whom had drawn Shinta's gaze.

The boy felt his breath catch as his eyes found Nanoha-chan first. She seemed heavy on her feet, probably tired, and while her street clothes were mostly clean, her arms and legs had visible bruises and scruff marks, lightly speckled with dried blood. Shinta felt a cold fire begin burning in the pit of his stomach as his gaze came to rest on the livid bruise slowly purpling on the side of Nanoha's face. However, that feeling quickly dropped away in confusion.

At Nanoha-chan's side was Yuuno-kun, and he looked tired as well but uninjured. Next to those two, however, was a _big_, dog-eared woman carrying a very familiar-looking blonde girl... 'Fate!' Shinta looked closer, and saw that both were scuffed up and bruised, but Fate herself was dangerously pale and being very careful not to let anything touch the insides of her hands. He opened his mouth to ask his big sister...

The woman's gaze lit upon Shinta, and she suddenly shouted, "AAH! It's the hard-headed brat from that time!"

Shinta blinked. "Eeh..." He focused on the dog-eared woman's face, and it clicked. "Eeeeh! You! You're the one who punched me out in the woods behind that hot spring we went to weeks back!"

"Punched you out? It took two hits! _Two_! Exactly how thickheaded can a brat like you get—?"

**POW**

Shinta felt a deep sense of satisfaction as his throwing arm administered the reinforced case of the second med kit to the dog-eared woman's face. It was a _very_ nice throw. "You kept me out of Nanoha's first fight with Fate, and she got hurt pretty badly!"

The kit deflected off of the dog-eared woman's head, flipped up in the air, then came down neatly in Fate's lap (who had to jerk her hands out of the way, but was otherwise nonplussed), and popped open.

"Arf?" Fate asked.

The newly-identified Arf rocked back on her feet, then forward and upright again. She shook her head, long hair flying and revealing a new bruise coming up smack in the center of her forehead. Then she opened her eyes and _glared_ at Shinta.

Shinta scowled back, though at his age it was more cute than threatening, and continued speaking. "Chiyo-nee-san's obviously invited you here, so I'll trust her judgment. I might even forgive you... but I'm never gonna forget."

Arf opened her mouth with the obvious intent of tearing a verbal strip out of the boy, but Fate preempted her familiar. "Arf... Let it go. He has a right to be mad... I did hurt his friend. And look. Bandages. Burn cream. It's a first aid kit... and he gave it to us."

Arf grunted and turned her head, indignation slowly fading, though she kept an eye on Shinta. Still standing next to her little brother, Chiyo sighed. Before she could speak up, however...

"Oi, oi, oi! What's going on!"

"Uncle Gil! What was that yell about?"

"Chiyo-chan, you're a mess! What happened, who'd you fight?"

"Oh, oh! New people, new people!"

...A bunch of the older Emiya children piled into the entrance hall. Shinta spotted Takeshi-nii-san, Kiritsugu-nii-san, Arika-nee-san, Aya-nee-san, Fuuko-nee-san, and Riko-nee-san, all talking at once. Shinta's ears picked up a grinding noise, and glancing over at Chiyo-nee-san, he understood. In fact, he was getting a little angry himself. Nanoha-chan was still standing there by the front door, still injured but patiently waiting out the typical Emiya Clan Chaos...

Oh, Fate and Arf were looking rather bewildered. Well, that was a _little_ consolation.

All of a sudden, the air grew heavy and silence reigned. Numerous gazes slowly turned toward Chiyo-nee-san, who was giving the noisemakers _The Smile_.

Then the silence was broken as a group of Emiya adults came thundering in, somewhat staggered in order, but almost all trying to speak at once. Shinta counted them and their point of entrance into the hall: Shirou-tou-chan, Rin-kaa-san, and Lorelei-kaa-san from The Workshop; Musubi-kaa-chan, Akitsu-kaa-san, Sakura-kaa-san, and Medusa-kaa-san from the kitchen; Chiho-kaa-san and Uzume-kaa-san from their room upstairs; Kazehana-kaa-san, Alaya-ko-kaa-san, and Altrouge-kaa-san from the deck overlooking the yard...

Taking another glance over at Fate and Arf, Shinta saw the dear-in-the-headlights-of-an-oncoming-truck look on both of them; good, a little more revenge for hurting Nanoha-chan... 'Ah! What am I thinking! Nanoha-chan is _still_ injured!' Yuuno-kun just looked resigned, but then he had experienced this before. And standing beside Shinta, Chiyo-nee-san bristled and twitched. Yeah, she was injured too.

Shinta felt his right eye tic upwards. "EVERYONE, _**SHUT THE HELL UP**__!_"

* * *

><p>"EVERYONE, <em><strong>SHUT THE HELL UP<strong>__!_" echoed up the hall and into the den.

Kumako looked up from her homework with wide eyes to meet Jun's and Gekkou's similar expressions.

"Aniki...?"

Reiko quietly added, "...Is very mad."

There was a moment of silence in the room, then Ichigo giggled, and Shinra giggled back.

* * *

><p>In the Emiya Manor, just off the entrance hall, were several rooms to welcome guests. One of these, however, was decorated and outfitted very differently than the others: it was finished with plain white walls instead of plush colors or elegant fabrics, and had beds, stools on wheels, and latched cabinets instead of couches and bookshelves. The frequency and degree of injury in the Emiya Clan was such that having a large infirmary right at the entrance to the manor was beyond intelligent, rather it was simply necessary.<p>

All the siblings except for Shinta and Chiyo-nee-san were instructed by the remaining adults to stay well clear of the beds. Shinta, because he insisted on tending to Nanoha-chan himself, and Chiyo, who was injured herself but insisted on tending her own wounds... A bit clumsily, but much less so than anyone not of the Emiya would expect. Past experience teaches very well indeed.

Shirou-tou-chan was probably thinking that very thought right now, from the frown on his face as he watched Chiyo.

Shinta turned back to his self-appointed task and held up a cloth damp with topical antiseptic. "Um, turn your head a little more, Nanoha-chan..." The blush already decorating his face deepened.

Nanoha-chan tilted her head slightly, but only just, and her eyes kept flicking away from Shinta and then back. "Eh, if you insist, Shinta-kun... I'm fine, really..." Her own blush deepened as well.

Shinta couldn't help it, but by now his blush was reaching the tips of his ears. The muffled sniggers coming from Yuuno's direction weren't helping. Oh, goody, here comes something to equalize the embarrassment... Or rather, some_one_.

Keiko-nee-san wove through the crowd of her older siblings, grabbed Yuuno-kun by his arm, and yanked him out into the hall. "What the—?" he exclaimed in surprise.

"Finally! I've been trying to corner you for weeks now! You sure know how to keep a girl in suspense, don't you Yuuno-_kun_?" Her voice was throaty and low in pitch, a tone that Shinta tentatively labeled as 'suggestive', though he still lacked a straight answer as to _what_ was being suggested. He knew enough to recognize it as a special kind of teasing, though.

"...Eh? But Nanoha-san is often here with Shinta-san, so why not ask her about—" Ah, Yuuno-kun must have figured out why Keiko-nee-san had been trying 'corner him' at all.

"Do I _look_ dumb enough to get between Beam-Spam-chan and her boyfriend?" Keiko-nee-san sounded like she was giving Yuuno-kun a dry look.

"Beam... Spam... chan? Er—"

Shinta felt a bit sad that he couldn't spare the attention to eavesdrop, but Nanoha-chan came first. Much later, however, he got to hear from Kiri-nii-san and Riko-nee-san how Keiko-nee-san grilled Yuuno-kun on his magic style, but in words rife with 'innuendo'. (Another weird word nobody would talk about, but Shinta guessed it referred to _being_ 'suggestive'. The dictionary didn't help much, unfortunately.)

"...so that's what Raging Heart does for Nanoha-san."

"That thing changes sizes, from a tiny jewel to a freaking huge staff!" There was a grumble from Keiko-chan. "Lucky girl..."

"Ah... right. Never mind. What else did..."

"Hey, about that 'buster' spell: holding the pressure in makes the final release a whole lot bigger, right? Are all Mid-Childan spells like that?"

"Well, no... only tier-charged magical bombardment spells are like that..."

"Huh. Shooting that stuff everywhere seems kind of _messy_..."

"…"

"Right, moving along. I got your notes on Mid-Childan magic from Shinta-chan and worked out a spell matrix I want to try, but first I want you to help me get the hands-on experience I need to make it come out properly, 'kay?"

By the end of the conversation, Yuuno's left eyebrow had a noticeable tic. Shinta wasn't quite sure what was so funny about the particular words, but obviously the humor was there. His nii-sans and nee-sans had a very hard time telling the story without breaking into tears laughing. Especially at the final part, of which Shinta heard a great deal of even with it occurring out in the hall where he couldn't see it happen.

There was a short pause. "...Are you even _listening_ to the things you're saying?"

"What things?" Asked a completely different voice. Kiri-nii-san would later inform Shinta that it was Riko-nee-san who said it, and she did so after sneaking around behind both Keiko-nee-san and Yuuno-kun to ask it directly into his left ear.

There was a short, strangled cry of surprise from Yuuno-kun and the bell-like chime of Mid-Childan magic being cast, followed by a loud thump.

Then Riko's voice spoke again. "Mmm... Kinky, Yuuno-kun. _Very_ kinky." There were murmurs of agreement from the other siblings in the hall, and a few words too muffled to understand from Keiko-nii-san.

"I... I... I'm so sorry!" Yuuno-kun sounded very distressed. "I didn't mean it, I was just thinking about spells, and then Keiko-san, and I was, and then Riko-san surprised me—"

Kiritsugu-nii-san interrupted. "You were actually thinking about _that_? Daaaaayum! The ladies better watch out for this lil' killer, huh Takeshi?"

There came a muffled gulp from Takeshi, who then said, "This... is highly improper! Scrya-san, please undo those binds before—"

At which point Miya-kaa-san strode out into the hall. "Now, now, Scrya-kun, I know you are not a frequent visitor, so I'll tell you right now that there is no casting spells in the hallways—My word, is that Keiko-chan all chained up? Well, I supposed it's for the best if she was being as _naughty_ as it sounded to my ears..."

Shinta guessed it was a—well, not an adult thing, because his older siblings obviously got it, but, well, Yuuno-kun got it too, but he was way smarter than Shinta himself was—so maybe it was something you grew into as you got older, but could figure out earlier if you were really smart? Whatever it was, it had to explain the mortified, strangled gasp that came from Yuuno and the sudden laughter from most everyone else out in the hall.

Still, it was good teasing material on Yuuno-kun, if reminding him of binding spells and older girls could make him blush _that_ hard, that quickly. Shinta wasn't quite sure if he should, though... After all, Yuuno-kun never teased Shinta about his screw-ups with magic, and he'd had quite a few in the last week.

Speaking of which, there was something he wanted to show the boy mage. Tomorrow morning, then. Chiyo-nee-san would probably want to see this, too.

And of course, Shinta wanted to show off for Nanoha-chan.

* * *

><p>Original post, first part: http: forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/25/ #1,250

Original post, second part: http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/43/ #2,132


	7. Devil's Wings 7

Devil's Wings 7

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>Nanoha hung up the phone and turned. "Thank you, Tsukiumi-san. Tou-chan and Kaa-chan both say its fine if I want to stay the night here." She bowed, "I hope it's not a bother, having not only Yuuno-kun and I, but also Fate-chan and Arf-san to feed as well."<p>

Tsukiumi stood in what most would consider a very haughty pose, hands on her hips, but the blonde woman used it with a surprisingly natural flare. "That is fine, Nanoha-chan. My husband loves to cook and so do several other members of our household, so food is never in short supply." She then leaned over and gently touched the side of Nanoha's face. "All will be well, you'll see. It is, after all, not the first time one of our many children has brought friends home unexpectedly."

* * *

><p>"Now Shinta-kun, yelling at your family, and so crudely too, is no good at all. What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Miya-kaa-san stood before Shinta, her dreaded Hanya Mask looming over her shoulder at him.<p>

Shinta did his best to suppress a shiver of fear. "I apologize for being crude, Miya-okaa-san, but not the rest of it." Miya's gaze intensified and Shinta gulped but forced himself not to give ground. "Nanoha-chan and Chiyo-nee-san and Fate-san were all hurt, and that familiar too. But everybody else was just yakking away."

"...You know what this means, don't you?"

Shinta sighed. "Yes, Miya-okaa-san. Soup is just fine for dinner, I won't need anything else." The boy peered up at Miya with a guilelessly innocent expression, who blinked owlishly at the unexpected response. Then Miya considered Musubi's child, and decided that if he was going to volunteer for a punishment... Why not let him have it?

* * *

><p>"Mongrel."<p>

"Yes, Uncle Gil?"

"I'm well aware of how much food you usually pack away, and since you are now on punishment detail, no sneaking a snack from the kitchen tonight. Still, that begs the question, 'why'?"

"Well, Miya-kaa-san likes to punish us half-Sekirei kids by grounding us, 'cause it keeps us away from our Ashikabi if we got one. I don't, but... well... I'd rather go hungry for a night than not see Nanoha-chan for a week."

"Heh. Clever brat."

* * *

><p>All activity in the huge dining hall ceased for a moment when Arf gave a yelp of surprise. "F-Fate, get behind me!"<p>

Fate blinked, then peered around her familiar's body. "...That's a _big_ dog."

Primy raised his head to look over the pair of newcomers.

Arf shifted her stance slightly, though the motion betrayed the tremor in her limbs. Her expression spoke of tightly restrained fear, before magic hummed and the familiar resumed her wolf-hound form.

Off to the side, Shirou Emiya stuck his head in from the kitchen, curious about sudden absence of the usual pre-diner chatter. Seeing the confrontation in progress, he opened his mouth to speak—

—Only to have a finger brush his lips. His gaze turned to meet Altrouge's. Her dark eyes said 'Don't interfere,' the same message she'd given Miya and Arturia moments before.

After all, the 'family dog Primy' was also Primate Murder, the White Beast of Gaia, both intelligent and powerful in his own right.

He also completely out-massed Arf, which only added to the familiar's instinctive sense of dread. Before her was an _ancient _beast of magic, not like her, a melding of magic with a mundane creature. Arf had an absolute _zero_ percent chance of winning a fight with this one, and she knew it all the way down to her canine bones.

Primy took a step forward.

Arf flinched, but did not retreat.

Primy took another, stopping just shy of being nose to nose, and Arf trembled, but still did not retreat.

_'Impossible./Why?'_

_'Try anyway./For Fate.'_

Fate knew something had passed between her familiar and the huge white dog, but could not tell what that was. A moment later and the tension fled from the air.

Shinta stepped around Fate and Arf to ask in a quiet tone, "Primy?"

Primy rumbled something, his posture changing from _predator_ to _family_, as he turned his body away from Arf and Fate, deliberately showing his flank, then turning over his shoulder to look back at them.

Fate felt an electric thrill of shock run through her bond with Arf. ['What just happened?'] She asked telepathically.

['That... We...'] Arf's thoughts tumbled for a few seconds, but before she could gather them, someone else spoke up aloud.

"Hooo... That's nice, Primy."

Shirou's head had been shifting from Primy to Altrouge and back. "Altrouge? What was that?"

She smirked, "Primy approves. Loyalty, devotion, bravery..." Looking directly at Fate, Altrouge added, "You take good care of your familiar, girl, and she takes good care of you."

"Ah, yes." Fate replied hesitantly. The blonde girl's eyes had shifted from Primy to the short, dark-haired Altrouge, and hadn't moved since. Something about the young-looking woman felt both familiar and not to Fate, and she didn't understand.

Then Primy, who had trotted out of the dining room as Altrouge spoke up, returned with his spare food bowl clenched in his teeth. He dropped it with a soft clack on the floor beside his own.

"Well I'll be... He's even willing to share food. How's that for a ringing endorsement?"

Fate could only nod, as Nanoha and the rest of the Emiya Clan looked on in bemused surprise.

* * *

><p>Dinner was what most of the Emiya would call a tentative success. Chiyo could eat well enough even with worse injuries, so that wasn't an issue. Nanoha and Yuuno had both shared meals with the Emiya as well, prior to this.<p>

However, for Fate Testarossa the entire meal was a trail to stay upright, even with the red-headed girl and her boy friend at her elbows jumping to her assistance every few seconds. Even Arf got in on it, after hastily finishing her own meal and resuming her human form.

Fate knew she had to be strong in the face of the coming interrogation... only, it never occurred. Over dinner, this giant family chatted casually with each other, and repeatedly tried to do so with her. After the teenagers go tired of her monosyllabic answers, they shifted tracks and started regaling _her_ with tales of their own daily lives.

It was a barrage, but somehow it never reached the point of overwhelming Fate. In the back of her mind, she wondered how much of that was deliberate, and how much was this family's natural sensitivity at work. They were certainly generous enough...

* * *

><p>Karin was fussing over a stack of anime DVDs when Eiko tapped her on the shoulder.<p>

"Hm?"

"Tonight's Anime Night... I have a playlist request. Something... just for our guests. The two new ones, I mean." Eiko held out a particular DVD case.

Karin looked it over. "Last one in the Mobile Suit Gundam TV series? Any particular... reason..." The redhead's voice trailed off as she looked at the image of Amuro Ray facing down Char Aznable, their respective mecha behind them.

Eiko just smirked as she saw Karin make the mental connections. It was Shinta's favorite series, after all.

* * *

><p>In the front row, Nanoha and Shinta were the loudest in cheering. In between cheers, the redheaded girl mage found herself brushing off the odd side-comments that seemed more prevalent tonight from Shinta's many siblings... For the life of her, however, she couldn't guess why. It's not like she's even <em>heard<em> of Mobile Suit Gundam before Shinta had introduced her to it, so what was it about them comparing her and Amuro-san?

Yuuno's gaze would flick between Nanoha and the screen every now and then, and he had to muffle a fresh bought of laughter. "White and blue...!" Then he'd glance over at Fate. "Blonde... cape..." More muffled laughter.

Shinta himself occasionally glared at Yuuno, and completely ignored his siblings, in between cheering at on-screen action. His face was a bit flushed, but not from excitement. _'Tease me about white uniforms, my favorite anime, and my _Ashi—Nanoha-chan_, will you?'_ Shinta thought darkly in Yuuno's direction. Previous thoughts were set aside, and recent material was reevaluated, even as Shinta enjoyed the climax of his favorite anime series of all time.

Fate just watched the animated story progress with wide eyes, oblivious to everything else.

Arf nudged the tall silver-haired Eiko with an elbow, trying to keep the emotions off her face but only half succeeding. "...Are you trying to tell us something?" She asked, eyeing at the color scheme of the hero's flight suit and golem as he held out his hand to his long time rival, representing the truce between them that was called in order to better combat a much more dangerous, mutual enemy.

Eiko smiled a very small smile. "Prophetic. Can't help it."

Arf gave a very canine-sounding snort of disbelief.

* * *

><p>Shinta and Gekkou were packing into their beds as Yuuno rolled out the guest futon, when Shinta's stomach gave a rather loud grumble.<p>

"Ugh." Shinta tried to downplay it, but his discomfort was obvious. Soup for dinner was only of minimal nourishment, and that wasn't even considering how much he normally ate. Musubi's son, indeed.

"I'm sorry. I should have spoken up sooner..." Though, Yuuno looked rather more embarrassed than Shinta himself.

"Nah. Not your family, not your place to remind them. Besides, it's just one night. I'll live." Shinta replied philosophically.

Gekkou, however, had no patience for the chatter and wanted to sleep.

Something thunk'ed onto Shinta's bed at his feet. Turning his head, Shinta saw Gekkou's carefully neutral expression upside down, as his blonde brother hung down from the upper bunk.

"What the... a granola bar? Gekkou?"

"Hmph. Just remember, it's _my_ secret stash. You better get your own, because I'm not about to offer you this... boon... again in the future."

"Um... Okaay. But why even this time?"

"You delip... delibre... deliberately took the tougher path so you could stay at your Ashikabi's side, right? For once, you act like a proper Sekirei."

"She's not my Ashikabi... but thanks, Gekkou," Shinta replied quietly, a faint blush warming his cheeks.

Gekkou snorted crudely, then coughed in an attempt to cover it, and tried again to mimic his mother's preferred method of casually dismissing an obvious falsehood. "Hmph. Yet, Shinta. Yet."

"...I still don't get what this 'Ashikabi deal is, you know," Yuuno grumbled sleepily from the futon across the room from the bunk bed.

"Plespian."

"That's 'plebeian', Gekkou."

"Urusai, bookworm."

* * *

><p>Arf tucked Fate in for the night in the guest room. Wearing borrowed pajamas Fate thought over the day gone past, and felt torn. Her feelings were confused... This Emiya family... its members were so freely affectionate... Yet, her memories of <em>Mother<em>... refused to be set aside.

Arf stayed at her side, as stoutly devoted to Fate as ever. In the familiar's mind, she acknowledged the rapidly solidifying conclusion that this place is good for her master, unlike _that_ _woman_. And so, here Fate would stay, for as long as they could.

Then Nanoha came in, fresh from the bathroom, teeth clean and hair damp and clad in borrowed pajamas of her own. She climbed into the second guest bed, bid Fate and Arf good night, and all three went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Original post at http: forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/59/ #2,906


	8. Devil's Wings 8

_Devil's Wings 8_

By Trooper1023

An "In Flight" omake from the EMIYA CLAN scenario.

* * *

><p>The next morning...<p>

Arf raised her canine head as the door to the guest room opened with a whisper of oiled hinges. The familiar's eyes narrowed as Shinta Emiya stepped softly and slowly into the room, and she tensed in preparation of...

...The boy easily meeting her suspicious gaze, winking, and then moving over to Nanoha Takamachi's bed?

Arf watched as Shinta quietly coaxed Nanoha awake, shushing the girl when her yawn grew loud enough to be audible across the room. "Ssh. Let Fate-san sleep," he said in a hushed voice.

Oh. How considerate.

Still asleep, Fate Testarossa grumbled something and rolled over in the second guest bed. By the time Arf's attention left her master, Shinta and Nanoha had already left the room.

The familiar wondered idly if she should get up and close the door, which Shinta hadn't quite closed after him.

* * *

><p>Several minutes later, Arf was glad that she hadn't. From her admittedly limited vantage point across the room, the partially opened door still afforded the familiar a view of Shinta and Nanoha as they scrambled by under a hail of little yellow pellets, laughing as they went.<p>

Another moment later, one of the middle Emiya children stalked past, groggy and in an obvious huff, with her dark hair an absolute mess and her nightgown askew. Clenched in one hand was a shape of black metal and plastic with the slide pulled back, while she used the other hand to recover the pellets scattered on the floor and pocket them.

* * *

><p>"Alright, you little brat of a ninja. You got me <em>up!<em> Now tell me why I shouldn't give Karin _totally_ free reign next time she decides to prank you?"

Shinta felt a bead of sweat slide down the side of his face. "...Because you'd be even madder if I left you out?"

Coming to a halt directly in front of her younger brother, Keiko raised an eyebrow at his innocently-blank expression. "Left me out of what?"

"Ah, Keiko-san is here too?" came the voice of Yuuno Scrya.

Keiko double-blinked, realizing that it wasn't just Shinta – and Nanoha too, right – outside on the "training" section of the lawn; Yuuno and Chiyo were up and about as well.

"Well, I guess it's for the best... You did ask me about Mid-style magic and manipulating kinetic forces last night." Yuuno said, stiffly ignoring his own mild blush. "So, Shinta-kun. You wanted to show me and Chiyo-san something?"

* * *

><p>Shinta smirked as he saw the irritation drain from Keiko-nee-san's face and body language. Just like Rin-kaa-san, her daughter was a horrible morning person. Fortunately, adrenaline worked just as well as caffeine for waking either of them up. And Keiko's squeal of alarm upon waking up to a pair of glowing, disembodied hands floating over her – upper torso – was absolutely priceless. Human anatomy was fun! 'Have to thank Karin-nee-san for that hint...'<p>

'Anyway, time to get down to business,' Shinta thought to himself. He moved away from the rest, putting about three meters of space between them, then closed his eyes in concentration. A glowing circle flickered at his feet, very simple and plain compared to the complex, many-layered Mid-Childan circuit that Yuuno and Nanoha used, and baring a passing resemblance to the circular runic grid of Formalcraft. Opening his eyes, Shinta said. "Nanoha-chan. One Divine Shooter, please, and hit me with it."

"Eh? Uh... Okay." At the brunette's neck, Raging Heart glinted in the morning light. A single pink orb formed in Nanoha's outstretched hand. "Divine... Shooter!"

The orb of kinetic force blurred across the short distance – and exploded just shy of Shinta's body on a rippling field of sun-white magical energy. In the same moment, however, Shinta was flung backward by almost five meters. He landed on his back, kicked his feet up, rolled, and was back on his feet in the same motion, but that didn't stop everyone from worrying.

"Shinta-san! Are you okay?"

The boy shrugged it off. "Fine, Yuuno-san. Just annoyed that I can't get that protection field spell to work right. Been trying all week, too."

"It's supposed to be a simple shield against incoming kinetic force..."

"I know, I know! Instead of shedding that force outward, my shield eats it and ends up throwing me backward..."

"Ah, Shinta-kun, it's ok, you'll get it right if you keep trying."

"Well..."

While Nanoha tried to console Shinta and Yuuno ruminated on what he was doing wrong with the spell, Chiyo moved over to her younger sister and quietly remarked, "He's 'been trying all week'? Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't it take _months_ to learn a new system of magecraft to the point of casting spells unassisted?"

"You're not, Chiyo-nee. But it might be more than even that," Keiko said with a smirk. "Oui, Shinta. Show me your work."

"Mmkay..." From a bag left beside a nearby tree, Shinta fetched a simple notebook, flipped through a number of pages and handed it over, then trotted back over to his friends.

Looking over the mess of circular figures, runes, and numerical equations, Keiko's grin widened. "...I was right. Shinta didn't just try learning Mid-Childan magecraft, he tried _hybridizing_ it with our own. That kid, skipping steps like this will get him killed... if it doesn't make him famous first."

Chiyo shook her head. "And he still thinks he's got no talent for magic... nothing more than a fist fighter..."

"Ah-ha!" Keiko cried suddenly, attracting the notice of the three nine-year olds, who were debating the ups and downs of visualization of spell structure versus equation-setting. "Shinta, I've figured out your problem, and it's definitely not your visualization."

"Eh?"

Keiko pointed at a set of runes around a particular equation. "You've set up a double negative here."

"Whaaat! But, I thought... I checked... Rssm-frassm-nargle-fragle-marg..."

Chiyo laughed and scruffled Shinta's hair. "Oh, give over! You're nine, don't worry about it so much. Anyway, is this what you wanted to show me, Shinta? It's interesting, no doubt, but..."

"Ah! I almost forgot! Chiyo-nee-san, Nanoha-chan, watch this! Since I couldn't get the shield part of the spell right, I went and tried doing something else with it!"

Another set of concentric circles light up around Shinta's feet. Keiko's sharp eyes picked out the differences between this one and Shinta's previous, noting the added double-triangle structure and four Nordic runes at the compass points.

Then, to everyone's amazement, Shinta kicked off and _blurred_, in a passable impression of his mother's physical speed. He covered almost a dozen meters in a flash of motion with what looked like a single step. However, on trying to take another 'step', he tripped and went tumbling about half that distance with a howl of dismay.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeh! Shinta, what was that?"

"What are you _doing_, Shinta-kun! How did you get _that_ result?"

Keiko looked at Shinta, then back at Yuuno, and burst out laughing. "Oh my! Tou-chan and his way with magic strikes again!" Chiyo, wide-eyed herself, double-blinked and considered the idea, then started laughing as well.

Yuuno reiterated his confusion. Nanoha was busy helping a very red faced Shinta to his feet, who after getting upright started to speak. "Keiko-nii-san... What do you mean?"

"No, that's not how this goes. First, you tell us how you got from screwing up a shield spell to zooming across the lawn like a _tanuki_ on speed."

"Um... Ok. So, the protection field spell is supposed to keep me in one place, right? Instead, I kept getting thrown across the sprocking yard—"

Aside, Nanoha turned to Yuuno and mouthed "'sprocking'?" who shook his head. Yuuno chose not to indicate that he figured, by the context, that it was some kind of curse-word. Some things you just don't explain to a nice girl like Nanoha.

"—Every time something hit it, and weak hits pushed me a lot farther than they should have. You all saw that happen, earlier. So I was like, 'Ok, so what if I stop trying to tank the hit, and instead try controlling the direction I get pushed?'" Shinta shrugged.

"I was right!" Keiko laughed again, and turned to the puzzled pair of Yuuno and Nanoha. "It's a mistake at one kind of magic that leads to something else entirely. Just like how Shirou-tou-chan discovered his own magic. He spent years practicing what he thought was an otherwise useless exercise that is only meant to teach control of one's inner energy. He kept failing at it, however, because he was doing it completely wrong to begin with. But because Tou-chan kept on trying, changing little things about his attempts, and trying again... Well, eventually he started succeeding – but by then, he had invented a completely new spell, and one that is both powerful and unique to him."

Yuuno gaped. Nanoha looked wide-eyed at Shinta for a moment, then cheered and hug-tackled him. Shinta received the hug on reflex, then realized just what Nanoha had done... and turned very, very red.

Chiyo, however, was lost in thought. 'Sudden, immediate acceleration, to that kind of speed? If I could learn to use this spell...' Her face firmed. '...It would open up a whole new level for my swordsmanship.'

Even Keiko edged away from Chiyo when the teenager started giggling evilly.

* * *

><p>Later that day...<p>

Shirou Emiya frowned deeply as he entered the unmarked conference room. The 'scent' of multiple bounded fields hit him like a hammer in the face, and he felt Rin and Lorelei stiffen beside him as they both detected the same.

The room's two occupants drew a note of surprise, as well. Shirou Takamachi looked up from a briefing folder and grinned faintly. That, Shirou thought, was a good thing, or at least not a bad one.

The other man, however, was a different matter entirely: Tohno Shiki. His presence meant that the Japanese Emperor, the Diet, and the Taima Soshiki (Demon Hunter Organization) were all concerned with the situation at hand. Even without official title or position, Shiki was acting as their representative, and would answer to 'Nanaya-san' alone.

After Shirou and his wives were seated, Nanaya slid a second briefing folder over to him and then began to speak. "Gentlemen, ladies, _we_ have a problem in need of swift resolution: these 'Jewel Seeds'. What _we_ know is in those folders, and it isn't much. Fill me in."

* * *

><p>"...I see," concluded Nanaya. "Takamachi, you have <em>our<em> apologies for the involvement of your youngest. _We_ respect your wishes to keep her out of your old line of work, but..."

Takamachi shook his head. "Don't be. She is a Fuwa by blood – she decided she was going to help Scrya-kun, and that's what she's going to do. What I don't like is how it's just the two of them and Shinta Emiya," a nod in Shirou's direction from the other man, "chasing these things. However knowledgeable Scrya-kun is, he's still a child himself."

"Indeed. Barthomeloi-san, thoughts from the Mage's Association?"

Lorelei spoke up. "Two months ago, reports of a dimensional disturbance flooded the Clock Tower. Nothing came of it immediately, however, which was surprising for those dreading the appearance of a new TYPE. Then some idiot in the Neatherlands blew himself and his workshop to bits in a fountain of extra-dimensional prana. The Enforcer team found an unusual crystal in the wreckage, which we have since identified as another Jewel Seed. It has been contained and isolated under every kind of seal we can think of, but I still want to see how the Scrya boy or that talking Mystic Code does it. Rin?"

"Please. Just who do you think I am?" The petite magus gave a smirk. "I've begun correlating Scrya's style of magic with our own, and have _two_ points of similarity already."

A snort. "Of course you do. In the meantime, I have several teams of Enforcers out hunting for Jewel Seeds in other areas of the globe."

Nanaya folded his hands in front of him on the table. "That leaves it to us to secure any Seeds remaining in the vicinity of Japan. Excellent, and thank you. That just leaves the blonde interloper, this 'Fate' girl. Simply allowing her to collect as many Seeds as she can, without knowing anything of her plans for them, would be folly. Especially in light of the explosion mentioned earlier. Again, your thoughts?"

Takamachi was the first to respond. "She is the other reason I am not pulling my daughter out of this mess. Nanoha has repeatedly and emphatically stated her desire to emotionally connect with Fate, and I think it's our best shot at finding out her goals. The only other option would be to detain Fate by main force, and that doesn't sit right with me."

Shirou spoke up. "I agree. My son spoke of his and Nanoha-chan's first altercation with Fate. Also, yesterday there was another between her and her shape-shifting familiar, against Nanoha-chan, Yuuno-kun, and my older daughter Chiyo. Taking both into account, I can be fairly certain that Fate would rather _die_ than fail to meet her objective, but is very reluctant to _kill_ for it. Her familiar, on the other hand, seems concerned with her master's well being above all else, and might very well kill in _Fate_'s defense... And for no other reason."

"Those are my conclusions as well," Takamachi added.

Nanaya appeared to consider that, then nodded. "Anything else?"

Shirou continued speaking. "Yes. In the altercation yesterday, both parties sustained moderate injuries. My daughter was able to convince Fate and her familiar to accept my family's hospitality for the time being. I have not pressed either of them for information, and instead have told my children to do their best to make Fate feel comfortable. It... is a work in progress."

Rin sighed. "That is an _understatement_, and I think I know why. Chiho noted whip scars on Fate's arms and back while patching her up."

Hisses of disgust and indignation erupted from the rest of the room. Shirou felt his knuckles pop from the pressure of his clenched fists. "_Abuse_?"

"Most likely. And more disturbingly, Fate _refuses_ to consider any thought for _herself_, insisting that she _must_ carry out her _mother_'s wishes. No matter what."

There was a moment of silence as the implications of that sank in.

Nanaya took a deep breath. "Shirou Emiya-san, it is good to see that your judgment remains impeccable."

There was a soft noise from Rin's throat, though when Shirou glanced over, her face was perfectly straight. Even so, he _knew _Rin was laughing at him in reference to that last statement. Now wasn't the time to object, but once they got back home...

Nanaya continued, seemingly ignorant of the subtext. "_We_ can think of no better way to handle such a delicate situation. Thus, _we_ are authorizing you as a representative of the Japanese people, to bring this situation to a rapid end. Also, should this 'Time-Space Administration Bureau' that Yuuno Scrya mentioned appear in pursuit of the Jewel Seeds, you are also authorized to ally with them for this purpose, and are expected to represent Japanese interests while doing so. Lorelei Barthomeloi-san, will you coordinate the efforts of the Mage's Association with the Emiya Clan in this effort?"

"Of course."

"Good. That concludes this meeting."

* * *

><p>"Shirou-san! A moment of your time please?"<p>

Shirou Takamachi paused in mid-step, then turned to face Shirou Emiya. "Of course. What can I do for you, Shirou-san?" The former bodyguard grinned an ironic little grin at the word play of their identical given names.

Shirou E. felt a grin tug at his lips for the same reason, but suppressed it. "I'm afraid I must ask this imposition of you, but I feel it will be for the best, for _both_ your daughter Nanoha-chan and my son Shinta."

Shirou T. looked mildly surprised, but responded politely. "I find the likelihood of a request from _you_ being an imposition a bit hard to believe, but please, ask it of me."

"Thankyou, and I'll get right to the point." Shirou E. continued. "I would like Shinta to learn Fuwa-ryuu kenjutsu."

The former bodyguard's look of surprise grew slightly more pronounced. "Why?"

"For discipline and competence, Shirou-san. My own style is ill suited for a boy with Shinta's advantages in strength and stamina; he has no need to take the risks I do when facing an inhuman opponent. Also, I have seen _you_ in action against inhuman foes, which is a recommendation that very few dojo masters can claim."

A sly smirk crossed Shirou T's face. "And my daughter fits into this _how_? You can't possibly believe that I haven't noticed how Shinta-kun follows my little girl around, how he hangs on her every word, even when he doesn't agree. You're all but asking me to... _moderate_... their interactions by having Shinta-kun train in my dojo."

The Emiya Clan head brought a hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. "That is precisely my point. Well, one of them."

The slyness in Shirou T's expression melted into blank incomprehension.

Shirou E. sighed. "With the crisis at hand, I will have little time to set aside for my children. For most, that won't be much of an issue – they have their siblings and mothers – but unlike the rest, Shinta is in the middle of this mess. He needs the discipline and self-control, and kenjutsu training will do both and more besides."

"On top of that, I _want_ someone I trust moderating his interactions with Nanoha-chan. Shinta is one of my children who inherited his mother's 'Sekirei' bloodline. Those of it have a psychic gift for locating a life partner; upon finding someone mentally and spiritually compatible, the physical body produces a set of fairly obvious signs. This is called 'reacting', and Shinta is very definitely reacting to Nanoha-chan." Shirou E. paused for a moment, then continued speaking.

"His is also the youngest reaction of which I've ever heard. He's all of nine years old and reacting to another nine-year-old; before him, the youngest was twelve, and she reacted to a young man several years older than her. The relationship there was very distinctly a big-brother little-sister one, and remained that way for almost a decade before it finally changed into a more life-partner-ish one."

Shirou E. shook his head. "Frankly, I'm worried, and so is Miya – the family expert on Sekirei. Shinta isn't even bonded to Nanoha-chan – that requires a kiss on the lips – no, I'm not kidding, why are you looking at me like that?" Another sigh. "Nevermind. Point is, Shinta isn't bonded to Nanoha-chan. When not in her immediate presence, he should be completely unaffected."

"But yesterday evening, my other kids tell me that Shinta was intensely restless and anxious for no apparent reason. The timeframe of his anxiety, however, matches up precisely with the period in which your daughter was in combat with that Fate girl."

Shirou T. was silent for a good long minute. "I see," He said at last. "Hm. Well, I'm not totally convinced of this reaction and bonding thing, but I will take your word for it until I get the chance to see it for myself... Hopefully a good many years from now, if or when Shinta-kun _proposes_ to my daughter."

Shirou E. gave the other man a flat look. Another smirk was returned.

"However... I think it's a good idea." Now it was Shirou E's turn to look surprised. "Requesting that your son be trained in my family style – which is only taught _to_ family – is almost as good as setting up an _omiai_ for Shinta-kun and my daughter. It also fits with my own request."

One orange eyebrow speckled with silver lifted. "That being?"

Shirou T. straightened and his stance became that of the blooded warrior he had retired from being. "If we take this path, to bring together these two wonderful children... I wish for Shinta-kun to be trained in _all_ of the Fuwa-ryuu – including the killing instinct."

The air froze between the two men, such was the intensity of their respective wills.

Finally, Shirou E. asked, "Why?"

"So that Nanoha, my precious little Nanoha, will never have need to discover her own." The former bodyguard took a deep breath, his eyes reflecting thoughts of his past. "Settling down with Momoko was _not_ easy – for both of us. I had been called the Heaven's Blade, and she—"

Shirou E. gave a surprised snort. "She was the Demon Flash? The two of you as the infamous 'Heaven and Hell' pair?" The magus gave an impressed whistle. "No wonder you don't want Nanoha-chan to face the same choice. What about your other children?"

"I no longer train for combat, only fitness, nor do I teach. My son Kyoya is now head of the Fuwa-ryuu, and my niece-turned-daughter Miyuki is his student, both in Fuwa-ryuu, and in rebuilding the Mikami-ryuu. Both have faced death, dealt it, and dealt with the aftermath. And considering what they've seen of Shinta-kun and Nanoha, I doubt they will object to teaching the boy."

Shirou Takamachi held out his hand, western-style, to Shirou Emiya. "So, do we have a deal?"

Shirou Emiya did not hesitate in taking the other man's hand. "I believe we do."

There was a long moment, as both men tried to overpower the other's grip, even while trying to hide any sign of exertion.

Then Rin poked her head around the corner and growled, "If you two are done acting like school boys in a pissing contest, I would very much like to get back home to my children."

"Indeed," Lorelei dryly added.

* * *

><p>If you want to see how Shirou 'objects' to Rin laughing at him, go read "Emiya Clan Behind Closed Doors", 'chapter' 5 in my "Emiya Clan Omakes and Devil's Wings Shorts" fic.<p>

Original post, "hybrid magecraft on the lawn" part: http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/36/ #1,783

Original post, "Nanya briefing" part: http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/25/ #1,216

Draft post: http:/ forum. fanfiction. net/topic/88086/42932494/71/ #3,510


	9. Notice

Note from the Author:

I have to admit, Devil's Wings is currently an absolute mess. It's sloppy, inconsistent, and flows horribly. Not unexpected for a bunch of snippets cut out of a forum thread. Particularly, I've noticed a disturbing tendency of mine to completely omit descriptive details and just write the dialogue, in a terrible imitation of Hemingway.

Instead of trying to edit what I have in place, I have decided to start a completely new story of the same name as the original, and do it _right_.

Once I get chapter 1 completely rewritten and expanded, I'll post it up. That will probably be this weekend.

To everyone who has stuck with me this far, thanks.

Trooper1023

Jan 19, 2012


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